The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third
of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands,
along with Saint Martin,
that are shared by two countries. Both by area and population, the Dominican
Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with 48,445 square kilometres (18,705 sq mi) and an
estimated 10 million people, one million of which in the capital city, Santo
Domingo.Taínos inhabited
what is now the Dominican Republic since the 7th century. Christopher
Columbus landed on it in 1492, and it became the site of the first permanent
European settlement in
the Americas, namely Santo
Domingo, the country's capital and Spain's first capital in the New World. After three centuries of
Spanish rule, with French and Haitian interludes, the country became independent
in 1821. The ruler, José Núñez de
Cáceres, intended that the Dominican Republic be part of the nation of Gran Colombia, but he was
quickly removed by the Haitian government and "Dominican" slave revolts.
Victorious in the Dominican War of Independence in
1844, Dominicans experienced mostly internal strife, and also a brief return to
Spanish rule, over the next 72 years. The United States occupation of 1916–1924,
and a subsequent calm and prosperous six-year period under Horacio Vásquez
Lajara, were followed by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina until 1961. The
civil war of 1965, the country's last, was ended by a
U.S.-led intervention, and was followed by the authoritarian rule of Joaquín
Balaguer, 1966–1978. Since then, the Dominican Republic has moved toward representative democracy, and has been
led by Leonel
Fernández for most of the time after 1996. Danilo Medina, Dominican
Republic's current president, replaced former president Leonel Fernández holding
51% of the Electoral Vote over his opponent ex-president Hipolito Mejia in
2012.
The Dominican Republic has the ninth largest economy in Latin America and the
second largest economy in the Caribbean and Central American region. Though long known
for sugar production, the economy is now dominated by services. The
country's economic progress is exemplified by its advanced telecommunication
system. Nevertheless, unemployment, government
corruption, and inconsistent electric service remain major Dominican problems.
The country also has "marked income inequality".International migration affects the Dominican Republic greatly, as it receives
and sends large flows of migrants. Haitian immigration and the integration of
Dominicans of Haitian descent are major issues. A large
Dominican diaspora exists, most of it in the United States. They aid
national development as they send billions of dollars to their families,
accounting for one-tenth of the Dominican GDP.

Population
Genetics

Child with grandmother in Santo
Domingo

In a research study it was revealed that the Dominican Republic's population
racial admixture is European and African, but there is also a minor Taíno element in the
population; research
published in 2010 showed that 70% of Dominicans have African genes, and 15% of
Dominicans have Taíno ancestry.
Even though it was found out that the Dominican Republic overall DNA
admixture is multiracial with a significant amount of Taíno DNA which is consistent with both
the historical background of the nation but, being that Dominicans range from
full Whites to full Blacks to Mulattoes, these genetic findings are not assigned
to the whole nation's population. Therefore, it does not suggest that Dominicans
in general have Taíno DNA, but rather it means that individuals may or may not
have it.

The Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean. The
country's year-round golf courses are among the top attractions on the
island. In this
mountainous land is located the Caribbean's highest mountain, Pico Duarte, as is Lake Enriquillo, the
Caribbean's largest lake and lowest elevation. It has an average
temperature of 26 °C(78.8 °F) and great biological diversity. Music
and sport are of great importance in the Dominican culture, with Merengue and Bachata as the national
dance and music, and baseball as the favorite sport.
The Dominican Republic is 68.9% Roman Catholic, 18.2% Evangelical, 10.6% with no
religion, and 2.3% other. However, other sources place the irreligious ratio at 7% and nearly 10%. Recent
immigration, as well as proselytizing, has brought other religions, with the
following shares of the population: Spiritist: 2.2%, The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints: 1.1%, Buddhist: 0.1%, Bahá'í: 0.1%,Chinese Folk Religion: 0.1%, Islam: 0.02%, Judaism: 0.01%. The nation has two patroness saints: Nuestra
Señora de la Altagracia (Our Lady Of High Grace) and Nuestra Señora de
las Mercedes (Our Lady Of Mercy).
The Catholic Church began to lose popularity in the late 19th century. This
was due to a lack of funding, of priests, and of support programs. During the
same time, the Protestant evangelical movement began to gain support.
Religious tension between Catholics and Protestants in the country has been
rare.
There has always been religious freedom throughout the entire country. Not
until the 1950s were restrictions placed upon churches by Trujillo. Letters of
protest were sent against the mass arrests of government adversaries. Trujillo
began a campaign against the church and planned to arrest priests and bishops
who preached against the government. This campaign ended before it was even put
into place, with his assassination.

During World War II, a group of Jews escaping Nazi Germany fled to the Dominican Republic and
founded the city of Sosúa. It has
remained the center of the Jewish population since.